My favorite aspect of bubble wrap used to be popping it. One bubble at a time, or stomping on a sheet to get that big ol' firecracker pop-pop-pop.

(BTW, for those of you with kids, it's awesome fun to host a pirate party where the kids "walk the plank" off a coffee table onto a pile of bubble wrap. Just sayin.)

But as the designated queen bee of shipping here at The Furnace, I have a new appreciation for bubble wrap. And packing peanuts.

When it comes to safely delivering our blown glass goodies to homes and galleries around the country, we've found that bubble wrap and packing peanuts and double-boxing are The Bomb. With a few layers of bubble secured around the piece, and some peanuts to provide cushioning between pieces (and/or to fill that layer of void between an interior box and an exterior box), the glass's odds of arriving unscathed at its final destination are greatly improved.

But bubble wrap and packing peanuts aren't the most environmentally-friendly.

Our solution?

We use biodegradable peanuts whenever possible. We're also the lucky beneficiaries of re-usable bubble wrap from one of our neighbors in the same commercial building. Sometimes we get lucky and locals bring us packing peanuts from their deliveries. If you have some peanuts or bubble wrap lurking around that you'd like to see re-used, instead of sent to the landfill, feel free to bring them by our shop. We're happy to take them off your hands.

Just please note: we can only use true bubble wrap (the sheets of "air blister" circles or rectangles in large or small sizes), not the "air pillow" kind of bubble. In the photo above, bubble wrap is on top; you can see some air pillows in the bottom left corner of the box. Air pillows just don't cushion the right way for our purposes. (But you can probably drop these off at your local pack-n-ship store for their use.)